Interview: SOULCYCLE BMX - Netherlands

Can you explain how the idea for your store came to be?

It was 1999, and I had already been riding BMX for some years with my friends. The scarcity and quality of BMX bikes that were on offer made me and a friend of mine, Michiel Verberg, decide to take things into our own hands. Fast forward a few months later and we had started our own BMX shop, called Soulcycle BMX shop. We ran the shop from the basement of a student house which was beside one of the Amsterdam canals. With only three bikes, some inner tubes, a spoke wrench and a vision, the shop soon expanded into a fully packed basement, with BMX bikes and parts, and flyers for local contests in every corner. Aside from running a successful shop, we also started organising events from 2000 onwards to promote freestyle BMX all over the Netherlands.

Can you tell us a bit about your personal history within BMX?

In 1983, on my 6th birthday, my parents gave me a BMX. I couldn’t get enough of riding my bike that I even rode it to school everyday. I even did some small jumps with a plastic motorcycle helmet on. It wasn’t until the age of 18 that I really got into BMX freestyle. The scene in my area wasn’t big at that time, but it was really tight and we shared some of the best times together. From riding, meeting other riders, travelling, and partying, we thoroughly enjoyed everything related to BMX. Nowadays my relationship to BMX is slightly different because I have a family and three young children to take care of as well as my work. My day-to-day life still largely revolves around BMX through running the business-side of the shop. This Vans project got me really motivated to dust the cobwebs off of my bike, and take it for a spin. However, I tried filming a clip and fell on my knees, but I managed to get a clip for the video, boom!

Are you primarily a BMX shop?

Yes we only deal with BMX freestyle. In order to get the best out of the shop and to be able to offer a wide range of bikes and parts, I think it is important to fully focus on BMX Freestyle. We’re also the only specialized BMX Freestyle shop in Amsterdam. I think it is good for the BMX freestyle sport to have a shop that is completely dedicated to BMX freestyle downtown. If people buy something in our shop, they support BMX and not any other sport.

Who’s on your team for Vans ‘The Circle’?

Stijn Hens: Stijn is one of those guys who you can hang with and have a good conversation with, but you might forget about his insane skills on the bike. He truly is fiend for both going big and technical on the bike, while also being calculative. He has a clear vision of what to film on what spot, and he knows he’ll be able to handle it. He is a mastermind, and I feel like his latest video part reflects that.

Emile Bouwman: If you’re around Emile you can be assured you’ll have a laugh. He sometimes makes you feel like you’re on a movie set - from acting as a bodyguard at his and his crew’s Bountyhunters jams, to perfecting an imitation of the local supermarket cashier you just saw. His ability to switch between roles shines through in his riding. He’ll have you amazed with the sliders you thought were impossible, but he may also be the one in the park blasting a quarter like nobody else does. At the time this lands on the World Wide Web, he will also be taking a role as a proud father! Lights, camera, action!

Twan van Wijk: You’re not going to find anyone who puts more work into his riding than Twan. He goes through frames and bars like nobody else, simply because he uses it five times as much. And when he’s not working for Soulcycle BMX, he’s out filming his next pedal grind wizardry, while also being halfway through plotting his next video part. Don’t let the effort he puts into his stuff and his ability to ride fool you into thinking he’s no character off the bike. There’s no shortage of sarcasm - that’ll leave you questioning whether to laugh or cry. I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty more of this guy.

Kareehm Richardson: Often found bar spinning his way around ‘the Provinciehuis plaza’ in Arnhem. His almost Olympic mentality when dialling in tricks earned him a recent spot on the Soulcycle team. No stranger to the biggest stair sets and technical barspin lines… He’s one to keep an eye on for sure.

Kimo van Hulst: No one deserves the title ‘beast on a bike’ more than Kimo does. Remember that ‘Ty Morrow will bunny hop your neck’ video from years ago? Kimo is our Dutch Ty Morrow. Leaving his marks on walls that have never seen tyres before, and 360’ing up 5 sets… no biggie! Just make sure to have him rolling on some 48 spoked-wheels though.

Who have you chosen to film the edit?

This year we have Flouz handling the business behind the lens. Hailing from Belgium, and already being good friends with most of the crew, it was a no-brainer to have this neat-handed guy aboard. Pointing a fisheye is second nature to him, but he also delivers greatly to the overall vibe of the crew. You’ll definitely know him from any of the infamous Cluut Crew videos! One of my favourite videos from the past is Little Devil Criminal Mischief because of the vibe of the video. The Cluut Crew videos give me the same feeling, a mixture of a lot of fun and great riding.

Has filming gone well so far?

The crew were really stoked and motivated to ride and film together for this video project. This is all you need to get the best result, so I hope y’all like the vibe and riding in our video!

How’s your local BMX scene looking these days?

The scene is growing but it still remains one big family.

In our area we have street, park, dirt and flatland riders. With a mix of different styles and disciplines this means more street orientated riders aren’t afraid to hit the bowl or dirt track when there’s a session going on. Riders are connected with each other and meet up to ride various places in the area. This is what I love about BMX, and I’m really stoked to have a scene like this hanging around our store. For example, we filmed the Vans video over a 10 day period, and while in Brussels, our homie Rinke and his 11 year old son joined the trip for 2 days. We also hosted two street jams during these weeks. We’re not just handing out to the BEST riders, no, we support and encourage everyone that’s brave enough to grab his/her bike and join the battle! No matter what your background or gender is, whether you are young, old, tall, or small, BMX is the connecting factor.

How does it compare to when you first opened your store?

When we opened the store we could have counted the number of riders on two hands. We always believed that if we could share the fun of BMX, and the lifestyle, through organising events then the scene would grow in a good way.

Have you seen an increase in female riders and more diversity in general over recent years?

BMX Freestyle and female riders still need more attention - at the moment the number of male BMX riders is greater than female riders. But this is at a turning point, and in a few years we’ll have a good scene of female riders for sure. To promote this, we’ve added female competitions to our jams and events, so all female riders out there get the attention that they deserve.

How important is a good BMX shop in supporting a local scene?

A BMX store isn’t only there to offer the best gear, to give good advice, or to be a place to meet and greet; it also has the function of showing the atmosphere and the sport to the wider public through events, and to collaborate and work with the municipality to ensure there are enough facilities to practice the sport.

Do you think BMX has been more popular lately?

The more stoked we are on the whole riding game, the more we’ll show everyone how cool BMX and our community is. So yes, it’s growing and, yes, everybody is welcome. (Except: … haha just kidding)

What’s the strangest request you’ve ever had from a customer?

We get a variety of people in our store every day. This is what I like about my job, and a good reason why we still have our store downtown in Amsterdam. An event that has always stuck with me though is when two members of the Hells Angels entered our store to confiscate the Little Devil shirts that we were selling. Little Devil had used the Hells Angels logo in a print on a shirt and since this is a protected logo which is in the possession of the Hells Angels, this shirt wasn’t allowed to be sold. Pretty impressive to have two big Hells Angels members in the store. The two guys were really friendly, so we gave them a shirt and they told us that we should stop selling those shirts, otherwise they’d put their lawyers to work. We did what they told us. This was a wise decision, with today’s knowledge, otherwise I wouldn't be able to tell this story now…☺